alan potts

Grant said power was and would not be a problem as I was using the correct transformer bought from FLO, in any case it would appear I have taken a set of Darks which Sharpcap stacked and this alone rules out power supply and cables. The laptop though older is a top quality Thinkpad made to professional standards not the normal machines that are bought in Techno Markets, the 3 of these came from a friend who is really expert at IT, he told me the build quality of these laptops is much better than shop bought, showing me the copper heat sinks inside on and around the processor. It was also only the camera that was connected to the laptop so it was supplying nothing else, I feel this is not the issue, it's more likely something I haven't done, or have done wrongly. Alan

I am sure Sharpcap does work but I found it very difficult to understand after being use to PHD and APT which to me at least were straight forward, even though the latter in this case I couldn't get to work. The cooling was about the only thing that I clicked with, but appear to have taken some Darks which it seems to stack for you. So at least it ruled out the camera as the problem and cables too. I just, maybe unfairly, didn't like Sharpcap. Alan

Nice shot, can never see where the name comes from. Alan

Just a bit of cloud here for the first day this month. Alan

I will bear that in mind Anthony, Alan

I will go over this tomorrow in the house with a scope, camera and laptop. When I tried this cooling it srated but stopped saying something like it could not reach temp, but I am not sure of the exact wording, it didn't work is all I know. Kind of you to try for me, I will report back tomorrow on what happen, with my luck it will work in the house but not outside. Alan

I will set up a camera and program tomorrow in the house and try this. I am fairly sure this is what I got.

Ascom Driver loaded for APT. Selected Ascom camera in section. APT tells me camera connected. Will not cool the camera all connection fine. Will not take a shot all connections OK . The power thing I mentioned at the begining was when I first plug the camera in and turned the cooling on using sharpcap, it stopped the mount tracking dead. Sharpcap is not for me. many thanks Alan

It does support cooling, it is the only thing I have actually got to work. I have taken it off the telescope and re fitted my Canon, I have lovely sky and I am not wasting any more nights doing something I don't understand, I may even send it back. I agree Sharpcap is aimed at planetary but people keep pointing me that way I have taken it off the laptop too. If it doesn't work with APT then it's not for me. At the moment it doesn't, I have messaged the APT man himself. I am sure I will get there, people on here are kind and do really help, but like me sometimes they don't always read all that has been said and offer information that is way over my head, this is not difficult. Alan

I asked a similar question and was put off the 183mc as the pixels were too small and this gave problems on some scopes. I am sure someone will give you a much better answer than I just have. I bought a 071 and I am not enjoying it at all, I am sure the camera produces fine result but in my hands I am not so sure it ever will. At the moment I am wishing I had got another mount and stuck with my Canon 40D, so easy to use.

Yes all seems fine, however you have prompted me to look at the laptop, I know one of the Lenovo's has a couple of faulty USB ports, I have 3 the same I got in a job lot here. That said I feel it has made a stacked Darks file so I think it is working. What I am having serious problems with is not know what or when the camera is doing something. E.G, when you just turn on sharpcap the top of the screen basically tells you nothing is happening, but there is a line along the bottom counting frames and clocking up time in a bar shaped green line implying it is working on an exposure, no noise nothing, I hate it, have not even considered how you dither with it. Beginning to with I bought a new mount instead and stuck to the Canon 40D

I don't have a USB 3 laptop, only 2 desktops with it. I don't really want to put one of those in the observatory, both have 16gb of ram and I use them for processing, the office model is sort of the wife's, wouldn't dare move that, I would have to move. Alan

I believe it is just a 1.5m cable maybe 2m but for sure no longer, that first issue with mount stopping is an odd one, I feel this is about power and earth connections, things here are not what they are in the Uk. Alan

I agree with you. A little while back when I was fighting PA and trying to understand how to get it better, I got PA down into 3-4 arc mins area and all of a sudden there is was, say jupiter on first slew. in-frame but not centre. Now when I do it is it miles out in some cases maybe 5-6 degrees or more as when I start I can see Jupiter easily. Once I have synced to it then it will point OK. But the distance between map position and actual scope postion on the EQmod little chart is a fair old gap

I don't actually feel any of us care, I for sure never move the camera positions so the shots are at all angles as you say due to the EQ mount, at the moment though I am mainly shoot south so not so noticeable. Alan

I have spots on mine and as far as I am concerned the scope and everything else is spotless, I have given up, good luck. Alan

Food for thought there, I have only really had this issue for a short while, a month tops, I will look at it tonight as looking outside it will be clear, as the hasn't been a cloud in the sky for weeks. I will also be able to line up the finder I put on the other day. Alan

I have the guide camera which is lined spot on the the main scope, and I have just placed a 9x50 SW finder on the 70mmED, this I have yet to align, but that id fairly simple. Trouble is I don't know how the two imaging scopes are in relation to one another, something to look at that I didn't think of, then thats no surprise. Alan

All in good time, I'm still in junior school at this lark. 1st year too. Alan

I may get round to Plate-solving when I get off Janet and John books, so difficult for me, this new 071 is a nightmare, just do not understand a single thing, largely software based issues, how the hell do you know if it's working. Begining to wish I had bought a better CEM 120 mount. Alan.

Dave, I only really image on the rising side and them allow it carry on for about 30 mins max across the meridian, so I have no points that side I did about 3-4 months back but this problem seems to have raised its ugly head only in the last couple of weeks. Alan.

Orientation, mine are often upside down, nice shot. Alan

I use C du C with Eqdir and in the past it has been pretty good at putting stars in screen, my field of view is a decent size about 1.5x 1.0 degree. Even when I sync it in with a few targets once it cross the meridian it tells me it is a long way out, moving the FOV marks by a fair distance. Now first I thought Polar align, which once was bad but now according to many checks (10plus) with PHD2 Polar Drift is better than 2 minutes error, good enough for decent guiding even down at below 20 degrees from the horizon. Last night after a scpe change I checked it again the same way with PHD2, and this time the FOV is 2x1.3 or so, as a reducer is fitted, PA was said to be 1arc minute after a 6 minute run about 2 degrees from the Pole, slewing to Saturn it could even get close, maybe 5 degrees out, in any case I was unable to find it, got angry and packed up, not enjoying astronomy the last 2 days. Any ideas of the problem. Alan

M13 always amazes me with my 18 inch, so what an extra 6 inches offers I can't imagine. I dare say it will open out some of the more tight and small Globulars like M70,75,80,30 and 15, all of which I have had the camera on recently

Thanks for you reply, at the moment getting any exposure would be nice to look at, I aim for about 2-3 minutes judging by what others do, my sky id very good here as I am miles from any real problems and directions like South West and North, I have nothing for tens -hundreds of miles. I am though finding APT locking up at you say and it is running on a separate laptop at the moment which is doing nothing else but what the 071 requires, plenty of computing power for that I would have thought. Alan